Trucking Info

Former Meritor exec, Timothy E Bowes, has joined Transtar Industries Inc. as its Chief Executive Officer.

Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company recently celebrated a production milestone, producing its 200,000th refrigerated trailer at the Clearfield, Utah manufacturing facility.

For the first quarter of fiscal year 2013, Meritor posted sales of $891 million, down 23% from the same period last year. Meritor says the decrease was primarily due to lower sales in global markets.

For the period ended Dec. 31, Meritor lost $21 million. That compares with a loss of $22 million a year earlier. Excluding restructuring charges, Meritor’s loss from continuing operations was 11 cents per share.

ATD will celebrate its 50th convention in Orlando Feb 8-11. The first convention was held in 1963, seven years before the ATD division of the National Automobile Dealers Association was even established.

Brush fires caused by sparks from its diesel particulate filters and expensive recalls have apparently caused Cleaire Inc., a California specialty manufacturer, to suddenly shut down.

Without a public announcement, the company, based in San Leandro with a manufacturing operation in San Diego, ceased operations and pulled down its website last Friday.

Epes Transport System will increase mileage-based independent contractor rates by 2 cents to $0.92 per mile. The company’s Northeast premium pay will increase by 10 cents per mile.

Meritor celebrated its 10 millionth trailer axle made in North America yesterday at its Frankfort, Ky. manufacturing facility.

New reports circulated on Wednesday suggesting Daimler Trucks is preparing to cut more than 1,000 jobs at its Portland manufacturing facilities.

Additional reports suggest the company is also preparing to offer voluntary severance to about 800 non-production staff at facilities in Germany.

Blue Tree’s R:Com in-cab terminal can now be temporarily mounted on the dash of rental vehicles or leased trucks.

The 2013 edition of the North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria Handbook and Pictorial is now available for order from CVSA.

Dupre Logistics LLC Energy Distribution Services will become the first PacLease customer to lease the Peterbilt Model 579.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who yesterday announced that he will leave the Obama administration once a successor is confirmed, will look back at a legacy of achievement, particularly in safety.

LaHood’s signature effort during the past four years has been to raise public awareness of the dangers of distracted driving.

The 7th Annual Heavy Duty Remanufacturing Group Summit was held on Jan. 21 at the Mirage Hotel prior to Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week.

Zonar, a provider of fleet telematics, remote diagnostics and mobile onboard computing, is holding its inaugural annual conference on May 14-16 at the Grand Hyatt Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas.

Brake Safety Week in North America was held Sept. 9-15 and is an annual enforcement campaign on commercial vehicle, truck and bus brake system maintenance.

The Timken Co. simplified interchanges to Timken driveline center support truck bearings by converting its parts nomenclature to align with familiar industry part numbers.

Roadside safety inspectors are being encouraged to check for compliance with the Unified Carrier Registration program starting Feb. 1.

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance said in a recent bulletin that the UCR Board is recommending the compliance checks.

Chevrolet is supporting a project to help long-haul truckers avoid idling during rest breaks at truck stops through a technology that maintains a comfortable cabin temperature and powers a TV, laptop or microwave without emitting the carbon dioxide emissions that come from engine idling.

States are loosening restrictions on marijuana but that does not mean truck drivers can kick back and light up a joint.

In last November’s election, voters in Washington and Colorado made it legal to possess an ounce of pot and use it for recreation. And Massachusetts joined the 17 other states (and the District of Columbia) that allow medical marijuana.

A congressional hearing held last September concluded with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration assuring stakeholders that refinements to the Compliance, Safety, Accountability program were under way and that more were scheduled in the near future.

Every two years a new group of professional drivers are chosen to represent the best of the best on the American Trucking Associations’ America’s Road Team.

I was pleased this year to see a couple of less-typical members on the Road Team:

American Trucking Associations is asking the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to push back the start date of the new hours of service rule.

The rule, which ATA and others are contesting in court, is scheduled to take effect July 1.

Following a modest pullback in November, the trailer industry closed 2012 on a strong note: December saw new orders rise to a multi-year high, while cancellation activity remained at modest levels.

The wholesale used market was the only segment to grow from 2011 to 2012, up 3%. The auction and retail markets both fell 11%.

Two thousand transportation officials and high-tech leaders from across the country will gather in Nashville, Tenn., from April 22-24 to explore solutions for easing traffic congestion, financing the nation’s transportation system, and advancing life-saving vehicle technologies.

Continental Tire the Americas announces plans to invest $129 million in its Mt. Vernon, Illinois tire facility and create more than 100 new full-time jobs over the next three years.

A new advance report from the U.S. Commerce Department show shipments of manufactured durable goods in December moved higher for the fifth of the last six months in December, while durable goods orders posted its seventh gain in the last eight months, exceeding many analysts’ expectations.

Prices for both diesel and gasoline saw a jump this week at the pump.

Diesel prices rose this week at an average of 2.5 cents across the nation to rest at $3.93.

A federal appeals court ruling Friday casts doubt on the legality of actions taken by the National Labor Relations Board since President Obama recess-appointed Sharon Block, Terence Flynn and Richard Griffin to the board in January 2012.

The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s Monthly Leasing and Finance Index, which reports economic activity from 25 companies representing a cross section of the $725 billion equipment finance sector, showed their overall new business volume for December was $11.5 billion

Last month I spent some time in Michigan, the land of highway “trains.” And I was reminded that in spite of what safety extremists claim in Washington, D.C., high-capacity long combination vehicles, or LCVs, can be operated safely.

CSX Corp. and its transportation and intermodal terminals subsidiaries announced an expansion of the company’s intermodal presence in the greater Montreal region and Quebec.

TravelCenters of America LLC, operator of the TA and Petro Stopping Centers travel center brands, has announced the acquisition and rebranding of a travel center in Holbrook, Arizona, to the TA brand.

Wabash National Corp. announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire certain assets of the tank and trailer business of Beall Corp.

Interstate Van Lines of Springfield, Va., has again been named the winner of an annual Fleet Safety award by the American Moving & Storage Association.

Transportation fatalities in the United States declined in 2011 by approximately 2%, according to preliminary figures released by the National Transportation Safety Board. The data indicates that overall transportation fatalities decreased from 35,043 in 2010 to 34,434 in 2011.

LAS VEGAS — When Rick Dauch arrived as the president and CEO of a struggling Accuride in February 2011, the latest in a string of top executives, he was able to convince the board that they needed to make serious investments in fixing problems before they could embark on a global growth strategy. Two years later, most of the fixing in the “Fix and Grow” strategy has been completed.

LAS VEGAS — The Heavy Duty Remanufacturing Group of the Automotive Parts Remanufacturers Association named Electronics Remanufacturing Company of Walled Lake, Mich., the 2013 Mike Hill Heavy Duty Remanufacturer of the Year.

FTR Associates Shippers Conditions Index for November fell marginally from October to a reading of -5.3, the precursor to what is expected to be a more challenging environment for shippers — meaning more leverage for truckers — in 2013.

LAS VEGAS — Although business investment has slowed due to uncertainty over fiscal negotiations in Washington, the economy is not in any imminent danger of sliding into a recession, said economist Bob Dieli during Heavy Duty Aftermarket Dialogue Monday the day before Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week.